Tuesday, 31 July 2012

My readings for July have been somewhat varied, given that curiosity overcame good sense in the form of the first two "Fifty Shades..." books. What can I say, I thought there must be something to make them worth the hype...

Anyway, this month I've read -

"Just Kids" by Patti Smith

"The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" by Deborah Moggach

"Fifty Shades of Grey" by E L James

"Fifty Shades Darker" by E L James

"Betty Blue" by Philippe Djian

For August I am planning to read "Little Women", and possibly "Northanger Abbey", just to dilute the effects of "Fifty Shades..." and make sure that my brain still works...

Sunday, 29 July 2012

It's vaguely unsettling how long it's been since my last Flea Market Finds post - I just haven't had much time lately to have a mooch around my favourite charity shops! I picked up a couple of books this week, my favourite being "Just Kids" by Patti Smith, which I actually read earlier this month on my Kindle, but I couldn't pass up an unread copy for 50p! I also picked up a couple of Terry Pratchett books, I am reliably informed that I'm missing something special by not having read them already!

So that's the latest pile to work through - I wonder where to start first?!

I'm preparing for a big upcoming event at the moment - I will be sharing a stall with Siop Cwlwm, at the annual Oswestry Show on 4th August, and I have been busily making away so that I have lots of lovely new things to take along!

I have finished six more single flower brooches...

and another eleven double flower brooches...

I've also made some more button brooches, but I have plans for a few more before the show...

And of course, some more fabric birds!

I have a few more things still on the "in-progress" pile, but my preparations are all going quite well so far!

Monday, 16 July 2012

Today I visited the "Turner, Monet and Twombly: Later Paintings" exhibition at Tate Liverpool. I've been wanting to go since it opened, so I took the opportunity to join a friend and her water-colour class on a day out!

It's a really beautiful exhibition, the inclusion of five of the Water-Lily paintings was a particular highlight, they really are quite stunning.

So after such a busy day I am taking it easy with a cup of tea, and having a look at the postcards that I picked up - but before I go I've had some comments relating to my Sunday Snippets post this week, so I thought I'd elaborate a bit...

The photographs are from a shop that I visited last Thursday called "Junk and Disorderly" which is in a lovely town called Shrewsbury. The building (and the town itself) is very old, and the shop has rickety old floorboards, some of the original wallpaper, and lots of funny little nooks. It's a strange little place, and I just couldn't leave without taking a couple of photographs!

Sunday, 15 July 2012

I had a lovely shopping day with my friend on Thursday! We made a day of it - lunch, afternoon tea and cake and lots of charity shops! I found a bunch of new clothes for the summer (when will that be?!) and there was a bit of a polka dot theme...

Blue and white polka dot top

Blue and white polka dot dress

Brown and cream polka dot skirt with floral trim

I've worn the top and dress already, but since the weather has been pretty wet and miserable I've been layering with leggings and cardigans, because I'm tired of waiting for a sunny day!

There's been lots of making going on in my stall over the last week! I have lots of little bundles of "in progress" stuff - five new fabric birds, twenty-six flower brooches (single and double), twenty yo-yo brooches (large and small) and two more small crochet brooches! My little desk has been quite full all week!

Today though, I actually finished some of the "in progress" stuff, and have put it all out for sale in my stall...

Monday, 9 July 2012

Last year I hosted a Knit-Along for AgeUK and Innocent Smoothie's "Big Knit" Campaign in my stall. We had a fantastic day, and for weeks before and after I accepted the hats that people had made and took them down to the AgeUK HQ in London the week before the deadline. The thing is, there were so many hats last year - 827 in total - we've set ourselves quite a target to beat - this year I'd really like to have 1000 hats to take!

So I'm starting early this year with my preparation, and I have a date set for the day - Saturday 25th August! I've spent the afternoon putting some posters together - this one is to put up on the notice board in the market...

and this one is for my stall with a bit of extra info...

I've already had a chat with my Stitch and Bitch girls and they are excited, and a local journalist was kind enough to have a chat with me about it last year so I'm hoping they'll be keen to get on board again - lots of local people came up with hats having seen the article!
So the planning is well under-way for my Big Knit 2012 knit-along!

I've been asked to make it clear that I am not a financial supporter or corporate partner in the Big Knit so there, it's clear, I'm just hosting a knit along

About Me

Welcome to gemmipop designs! I am an applied art graduate, specialising in jewellery and metalwork and I have my very own sweet little stall where I sell my work. I like to share my crafty makings and all of the interesting things I see on my adventures through this funny old world! Thank you for stopping by!